FARMINGTON — Caretakers of the elderly Chestnut horse, Dolly, reported the animal died after being taken from from a Farmington home by the SPCA. Two women there were charged with 13 collective counts of alleged animal cruelty. Sheila Ryan, director of development and marketing for the New Hampshire Society of the Protection of Cruelty to Animals (NHSPCA), told Foster's the 32-year-old horse died of colic a few weeks ago. “It was not treatable so we had to make that very difficult decision to let her pass,” Ryan said. “It was very devastating to everyone here, as you might imagine. Everyone here loves (the animals), and we're really hoping for a positive outcome for everybody, but unfortunately Dolly just couldn't make it.” Caroline Wilkins, 40, of 576 Chestnut Hill Road in Farmington, was arrested and charged with animal cruelty for her treatment of Dolly in early September, where the horse was found lame on her front two legs and extremely malnourished, weighing less than half her normal size. Horses of Dolly's size typically weigh anywhere from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds. A NHSPCA veterinarian told Foster's she was almost 500 pounds when she first arrived in Stratham. Shirley M. Patch, 59, who lives at the same address as Wilkins, was charged with 12 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, for the condition of 12 other animals at the property, including a miniature horse, a Rottweiler, goats, chickens and other horses.Local authorities referred to the case as one of the worst, and largest, they had ever seen in animal cruelty matters. The previous owner of Dolly, Shannon Donovan, of Milton Mills, told Foster's she gave the horse to Wilkins in early 2011, trusting she would care for her, after she lost her companion animal, a quarter horse named Blue, in an alleged hit-and-run accident last January.Donovan said she had volunteered to foster Dolly during her rehabilitation period with the NHSPCA this fall, with the hopes of eventually adopting her again. “I would like to eventually get another horse but for the time being I am helping and training other horses with behavioral problems,” she said.Donovan wrote to Foster's in an email the pain she felt, learning of Dolly's fate. Lincoln Geist, a then 85-year-old man who was arrested for leaving the scene after killing Blue in a collision and injuring Donovan's friend riding him, was indicted, but the charges have since been since dropped. Donovan continues to await developments in that case, too “I will also be going to college next fall to become a veterinarian but as for now I will not be getting another horse for some time,” she said.Several in the community had volunteered to help Donovan raise the necessary funds to care for Dolly, after learning of the animal cruelty case and Dolly's ties to the traumatic accident in Milton Mills.Rambunktious Glass, an artist's clan based out of Dover, also volunteered to sell a glass piece to support Donovan's efforts.At an arraignment in Rochester Circuit Court last month, where both Wilkins and Patch entered a plea of not guilty to their misdemeanor charges, Patch noted there were several other animals currently in her care, including a dog, a cat, mice and chickens.A pre-trial conference was scheduled for both suspects on Jan. 4, 2013, but a court clerk reported on Tuesday the two women will each face a trial on Jan. 15, at 8 a.m. Ryan said she was not certain the alleged malnourishment and neglect was related to Dolly's death, noting the horse's age. “Certainly during the re-feeding process and the rehabilitation process, it's a concern. Whenever we have an animal who has been as malnourished as she was, to bring them back, we're very, very, very careful,” Ryan stressed. “And sometimes, it's just unavoidable, apparently.”As for the recovery of the 12 other animals from the case, Ryan said she believes they are steadily moving along in their rehabilitative process. “They're still working their way back,” she said. “…It's kind of a day to day, but for the most part I would say they're holding their own.”Those wishing to donate to the NHSPCA may mail checks to the SOS Fund at P.O. Box 196 in Stratham, NH 03885.